Silver splitters: What's fuelling the flurry of over 65s getting divorced and re-married?

Online dating could be behind a rising rate of divorce among over-65s, the ONS has said.

Divorce rates among both men and women aged over 65 have increased over the past decade - and so has use of the internet.

From 2005 to 2015, the most recent full year available, the number of men of pension age getting divorced has increased from 8,059 to 8,697, and among women of the same age group the increase was from 4,654 to 5,554.

Among opposite-sex couples, the number of older brides and grooms increased by 46 per cent over the last decade. In 2014, some 9 in 10 people who married over the age of 65 were divorcees, widows or widowers.

Figures published by the ONS earlier this year show that older people are catching up with the young in internet use.

In 2017 78 per cent of those aged 65 to 74 said they had recently used the internet, compared to 52 per cent in 2011.